Mr. H. S.
L. Polak, who was closely associated with Gandhiji in his South African
campaign, explained some years ago the "origin" of the "Gandhi Cap" in a letter
in The Manchester Guardian. He wrote:

"There
are surprisingly few people, even among Indian Nationalists, who recall the
origin of the so-called 'Gandhi Cap'. It formed part of the uniform which Mr.
Gandhi, as a non-White political prisoner, wore dur­ing the South African Indian
passive resistance struggle of 1907 to 1914. He later used it when, on his
return to India, he further developed his technique of non-violent Civil
Disobedience."